History YMMV / TheEmpireStrikesBack

** Also, some dialogue and acting in the first film fortuitously appear in hindsight to be foreshadowing, like Luke being said to have "too much of his father in him", [[HesitationEqualsDishonesty Obi-Wan briefly hesitating]] when Luke asks about his father. To a lesser extent,[[MeaningfulName "Vader"]] is spelled (though not pronounced) identically to [[BilingualBonus the Dutch word for "Father"]] [[note]] Lucas actually derived it from ''Invader'' though has acknowledged the other meaning as serendipitous [[/note]], and the traits Obi-Wan told about Luke's father lined up with Vader surprisingly well - he proved to be a skilled star pilot during the Battle of Yavin, and shown himself be a cunning adversary overall. Still, ''Return of the Jedi'' had to handwave the retcon of Obi-Wan's deception as him speaking from "[[MetaphoricallyTrue a certain point of view]]".

** [[LukeIAmYourFather Vader is Luke's father]]; this twist is arguably even more famous than [[Film/CitizenKane the one for which this trope is named.]][[note]] Which is pretty funny if you know that Creator/OrsonWelles was George Lucas' first choice for the voice of Vader.[[/note]] It helps that the spoiler suffers a lot from MemeticMutation.

* SignatureScene: "LukeIAmYourFather". Not only is it the TropeNamer, but the scene's referenced in other media, and became a meme. It's that famous.

* ValuesDissonance: Han and Leia’s romance hasn’t aged very well. Han repeatedly ignores Leia’s boundaries and makes forceful advances on her despite her showing clear disinterest until near the end of the movie. While at the time it was seen as charming due to Han being a lovable scoundrel played by Creator/HarrisonFord, modern viewers are becoming increasingly likely to see uncomfortable “Me Too” undertones to Han’s pushiness and him ignoring Leia’s vocal disinterest in him.
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome:

** Also, some dialogue and acting in the first film fortuitously appear in hindsight to be foreshadowing, like Luke being said to have "too much of his father in him", [[HesitationEqualsDishonesty Obi-Wan briefly hesitating]] when Luke asks about his father, and that [[MeaningfulName "Vader"]] is spelled (though not pronounced) identically to [[BilingualBonus the Dutch word for "Father"]] [[note]] Lucas actually derived it from ''Invader'' though has acknowledged the other meaning as serendipitous [[/note]]. Still, ''Return of the Jedi'' had to handwave the retcon of Obi-Wan's deception as him speaking from "[[MetaphoricallyTrue a certain point of view]]".

** Yes, folks: that is [[Series/{{Cheers}} Cliff Clavin]] and [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory Hamm]] as Major Derlin.

** When the door shuts on C-3PO at one point, he briefly turns toward the camera and says “[[DeadpanSnarker How typical]].” It’s the only moment in any Star Wars movie to [[BreakingTheFourthWall break the fourth wall]] and blatantly acknowledge the audience.

** When the door shuts on C-3PO and he briefly [[BreakingTheFourthWall turns to the camera]] and says “[[DeadpanSnarker How typical]].” It’s the only moment in any Star Wars movie to break the fourth wall and blatantly acknowledge the audience.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: During the Battle of Hoth, there is a [[FreezeFrameBonus Blink And You'll Miss It]] shot of what looks like a little two-legged baby Imperial Walker. It does not appear in any of the wide shots of the AT-[=ATs=] advancing or at any other point in the battle. Though multiple AT-[=STs=] have a much more prominent role in ''Return of the Jedi'' and they are well known through PopCulturalOsmosis, its presence in this film is an example of this trope: it's since been revealed one of the effects crew threw it in as a joke, only for Lucas to take quite a liking to the idea and give the {{Chicken Walker}}s a bigger role in the next film.

** A common fan theory is that Admiral Ozzel was a [[TheMole double agent]] or Rebel sympathizer, and so his seeming incompetence (not wanting to search the Hoth system, alerting the Rebels to the imperial fleet's presence by coming out of light speed close to the solar system) was actually his attempt at undermining the Empire's efforts to find them. A few POV scenes of Ozzel in ''Legends'' render this unlikely in that timeline, as he is portrayed as demonstrably incompetent, disdainful of the Rebels, and primarily concerned with his own advancement. Captain Needa, on the other hand, was posthumously stated to have had Rebel sympathies in ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Wedge's Gamble]]''.

* UncannyValley: The Emperor's [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/e/ee/Emperor_TESB_1980.png/revision/latest?cb=20170129211936 original face]] before it's changed with Ian [=McDiarmid=]'s version in the 2004 DVD release.

* SacredCow: This film ties with Film/ANewHope for the Star Wars film with the highest following. Even people who don't like the prequel and sequel trilogies will not pick on this film. Also, do ''not'' criticize the famous ItWasHisSled scene if you know what's good for you.

** With the release of the Prequels and Sequels and those films being dubbed as [[{{Sequelitis}} subpar follow-ups]] themselves by parts of the fandom, the claim that [[ContestedSequel "people hated Empire at the time too" or that it was "divisive too"]] allegedly because of the darker tone and the twists has somehow taken root due to defenders of these trilogies (but particularly the latter) and Lucasfilm-affiliated people themselves, with newer fans who were brought into the series by these later films unwittingly perpetuating this in turn. But in truth, this is really blowing the VocalMinority at the time out of proportion. While ''Empire'''s original release had the lowest theatrical gross of the trilogy, the film got [[http://fd.noneinc.com/secrethistoryofstarwarscom/secrethistoryofstarwars.com/originaltrilogyreception1.html an overall]] [[http://fd.noneinc.com/secrethistoryofstarwarscom/secrethistoryofstarwars.com/originaltrilogyreception2.html positive reception]] from critics and fans alike. It evns got more positive reviews than ''A New Hope'' had, though averaging slightly lower in terms of scores. While some critics consigned the movie to the SciFiGhetto as they had with the first, and some of them who liked ''Star Wars'' better claimed that it worked as both a straight adventure and a winking pastiche/homage to various media genres and stories while ''Empire'' was "only" a self-referential straight adventure, many others just took it on its own terms. The darker tone and the twists actually got people excited. ''Empire'' topped the worldwide box office in 1980 (with steadier legs at the box office compared to some later movies in the series, though they were still chart-topping) and had three successful re-releases in theaters in the intervening years before the third movie. It did not need to be [[BetterOnDVD released on home video]] in order to be better appreciated, all the more because its first home video release was in 1989, years after the trilogy ended. The very year it came out, so without the benefit of the passage of time, it even won Best Film at the ''People's Choice Awards''. Besides, claiming this about ''Empire'' is not only [[LogicalFallacies whataboutism,]] but the "proof" is just taking those critics who didn't like the first film to begin with as representative of the critics and fandom at large. As much as the later films may be divisive, the originals were the ones that pretty much everyone liked, which enabled the later films to be made.

** With the release of the Prequels and Sequels and those films being dubbed as [[{{Sequelitis}} subpar follow-ups]] themselves by parts of the fandom, the claim that [[ContestedSequel "people hated Empire at the time too" or that it was "divisive too"]] allegedly because of the darker tone and the twists has somehow taken root due to defenders of these trilogies (but particularly the latter), with newer fans who were brought into the series by these later films unwittingly perpetuating this. But in truth, while ''Empire'''s original release had the lowest theatrical gross of the trilogy, the film got an overall excellent reception from critics (at least those who didn't consign it to the SciFiGhetto as with the first film) and fans alike. The darker tone and the twists actually got people excited. ''Empire'' topped the worldwide box office in 1980 and had three successful re-releases in theaters in the intervening years before the third movie. It did not need to be [[BetterOnDVD released on home video]] in order to be better appreciated, all the more because its first home video release was in 1989, years after the trilogy ended. The very year it came out, so without the benefit of the passage of time, it even won Best Film at the ''People's Choice Awards''. Besides, claiming this about ''Empire'' is not only [[LogicalFallacies whataboutism,]] but the "proof" is just taking those critics who didn't like the first film to begin with as representative of the critics and fandom at large. As much as the later films may be divisive, the originals were the ones that pretty much everyone liked, which enabled the later films to be made.

** With the release of the Prequels and Sequels and those films being dubbed as [[{{Sequelitis}} subpar follow-ups]] themselves by parts of the fandom, the claim that [[ContestedSequel "people hated Empire at the time too" or that it was "divisive too"]] allegedly because of the darker tone and the twists has somehow taken root due to defenders of these trilogies (but particularly the latter), with newer fans who were brought into the series by these later films unwittingly perpetuating this. But in truth, while ''Empire'''s original release had the lowest theatrical gross of the trilogy, the film got an overall excellent reception from critics (at least those who didn't consign it to the SciFiGhetto as with the first film) and fans alike. The darker tone and the twists actually got people excited. ''Empire'' topped the worldwide box office in 1980 and had three successful re-releases in theaters in the intervening years before the third movie. It did not need to be [[BetterOnDVD released on home video]] in order to be better appreciated, all the more because its first home video release was in 1989, years after the trilogy ended. The very year it came out, so without the benefit of the passage of time, it even won Best Film at the ''People's Choice Awards''. Besides, claiming this about ''Empire'' is not only [[LogicalFallacies whataboutism,]] but the "proof" is just taking those critics who didn't like the first film to begin with as representative of the critics and fandom at large. As much as the later films may be divisive, the originals were the ones that pretty much everyone liked, which enabled the later films to be made.

* {{Narm}}: Exclusive to the 1997 Special Edition, Luke’s scream while falling down the shaft falls into this hard. Not only is the scream itself incredibly goofy-sounding due to it being [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi Palpatine’s death scream]] set to a lower pitch, which doesn’t sound even remotely close to what Luke’s voice actually sounds like, but it was also edited in right after the iconic and incredibly dramatic LukeIAmYourFather reveal, which means that its comical nature completely ruins the mood and makes Luke’s DrivenToSuicide moment hilarious. To his credit, Creator/GeorgeLucas seemed to realize how Narmy this was and removed it from the DVD release a few years later despite keeping the other Special Edition changes.

* AssPull: At the time, [[LukeIAmYourFather Darth Vader telling Luke that he was his father,]] a {{Retcon}} made during script rewrites (in an early draft, Luke's father - who was not named Anakin until ''Return of the Jedi'' - appears as a Force Ghost to him before he goes off to Bespin). It came right out of nowhere, since in the previous movie Obi-Wan clearly said Luke's father was a hero whom a young Jedi ''named'' Darth Vader betrayed and murdered, and Obi-Wan even called Vader by his first name Darth, and up till then his words were treated at face value. A very early ExpandedUniverse story had already mentioned Obi-Wan, Vader and Luke's father together.

* AssPull: At the time, [[LukeIAmYourFather Darth Vader telling Luke that he was his father,]] a {{Retcon}} made during script rewrites (in an early draft, Luke's father - who was not named Anakin until ''Return of the Jedi'' - appears as a Force Ghost to him before he goes off to Bespin). It came right out of nowhere, since in the previous movie Obi-Wan clearly said Luke's father was a hero whom a young Jedi ''named'' Darth Vader betrayed and murdered, and Obi-Wan even called Darth by his first name, and up till then his words were treated at face value. A very early ExpandedUniverse story had already mentioned Obi-Wan, Vader and Luke's father together. The twist worked without too much trouble nonetheless, because the revelation is just as bewildering for [[AudienceSurrogate Luke]] as it is for the audience, and because it's quite dramatically effective: Luke learns that his perception of his father is a lie and is forced to question his path of vengeance, Vader gains character depth beyond being a ruthless villain, and Luke's potential fall to the Dark Side is much more palpable with the knowledge that his own father succumbed to the temptation. This was foreshadowed earlier in the film with Luke's Force vision of Vader with his own face, though this is only [[RewatchBonus more obvious in hindsight]]. For a first-time viewer, the scene could just be interpreted as Luke needing to confront his potential inner darkness as symbolized by Vader (which is developed further in ''Return of the Jedi'') and thus the familial reveal would still be surprising. Also, some dialogue and acting in the first film fortuitously appear in hindsight to be foreshadowing, like Luke being said to have "too much of his father in him", [[HesitationEqualsDishonesty Obi-Wan briefly hesitating]] when Luke asks about his father, and that [[MeaningfulName "Vader"]] is spelled (though not pronounced) identically to [[BilingualBonus the Dutch word for "Father"]] [[note]] Lucas actually derived it from ''Invader'' though has acknowledged the other meaning as serendipitous [[/note]]. Still, ''Return of the Jedi'' had to handwave the retcon of Obi-Wan's deception as him speaking from "[[MetaphoricallyTrue a certain point of view]]".

* AssPull: At the time, Darth Vader telling Luke that he was his father, a change made during script rewrites. It came right out of nowhere, as the previous movie clearly said Luke's father was a hero whom Vader betrayed and murdered. It worked, nonetheless. Discussed further [[AssPull/StarWars here.]]

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Before the asteroid chase, Han is trying to repair the ''Millennium Falcon'' when his toolbox falls on top of him, hurting him in the process. In June 2014, Creator/HarrisonFord got injured during filming for ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' when a hydraulic door from the ''Falcon'' set fell on top of him.

** Creator/GeorgeLucas altered the scene of the Emperor talking to Darth Vader for the 2004 DVD version and onward, not only with replacing the original visuals and voice work with [=Ian McDiarmid's=] for consistency with ''Return of the Jedi'' but also replacing lines and slightly extending the scene, which thus leads to alternate interpretations of the character dynamics at work. Hence:

-->'''''Original 1980 lines:'''''
-->'''The Emperor:''' We have a new enemy. Luke Skywalker.
-->'''Darth Vader:''' Yes, my Master.
-->'''The Emperor:''' He could destroy us.

-->'''''Revised 2004 lines:'''''
-->'''The Emperor:''' We have a new enemy. ''The young Rebel who destroyed the Death Star. I have no doubt this boy is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker.''
-->'''Darth Vader:''' ''How is that possible?''
-->'''The Emperor:''' ''Search your feelings, Lord Vader; you will know it to be true.'' He could destroy us.

** Han famously responding "I know" to Leia's love confession: A simple case of CannotSpititOut? Did he not actually love Leia till Film/ReturnOfTheJedi? Or did he want Leia to be free in the event he didn't survive the carbon freezing?

** Han famously responding "I know" to Leia's love confession: A simple case of CannotSpititOut? Did he not actually love Leia till Film/ReturnoftheJedi? Or did he want Leia to be free in the event he didn't survive the carbon freezing?
** Prior to the release of Film/ReturnoftheJedi many people including Creator/JamesEarlJones himself belived Vader was lying about being Luke's father to seduce Luke to the dark side. It got to the point that Lucas had to include the return to Dagobah in ROTJ to dispel any doubts.

* AssPull: At the time, Darth Vader telling Luke that he was his father, a change made during script rewrites. It came right out of nowhere, as the previous movie clearly said Luke's father was a hero whom Vader betrayed and murdered. It worked, nonetheless.